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Thursday, April 11, 2013

TBR welcomes Jessica E. Subject

TBR: Welcome to TBR, Jessica. Will
you share a little bit about yourself?Jessica E. Subject: Thank
you for having me back on TBR the blog, Cate! Hello everyone! Besides being a
multi-published author in both contemporary and science fiction romance, I’m
also a mother of two intelligent children, and a wife. I love to read in
multiple genres, listen and dance to music, and watch movies, especially
science fiction titles with some romance in them. When I’m in town, and the
weather is nice, I like to go out for long, fast walks, but if I get a chance
to hike by a waterfall, I tend to slow down.

TBR: Tell us about Accidental
Romance and where it's available.Jessica: Accidental
Romance is a new adult contemporary romance. I wrote it as part of The
Challenge series at Decadent Publishing. Here’s a bit about the series:

Challenge:
A test of one's abilities or resources in a demanding but stimulating
undertaking.

In every life, there
are challenges, boulders in the flowing stream of existence. From the physical,
to the psychological or emotional, nobody is immune. No one gets through life
intact, but the challenge is not to avoid damage, but to work through, past or
around the things that make life so difficult.

We all know people who
do this—live fulfilling lives in spite of the difficulties they are forced to
deal with.

The Challenge series
is about characters who do just this—and the people who love
them. Challenge is a romance series with a twist. The “challenge” takes a
central role in the characters’ romance.

Now, many of my characters already face challenges, such as Alopecia
Areata, acid burns on their face, infertility, and more. With Accidental
Romance, I decided to have a younger main character, a woman still finding her
way in adulthood. And I decided to break some gender barriers as well, having a
female taking over the farm for her father, rather than the typical son.

Here’s the
blurb:

At twenty-two, Leanne
Declan has graduated from college and hopes to take over the family farm until
a tragic accident changes her life forever. Unable to do the simplest everyday
chores, she must depend on her family and friends as she learns to face life’s
challenges. But when her fears threaten to destroy her future, can an
unexpected love be strong enough to help her dreams come true?

TBR: Please tantalize us with an
excerpt.Jessica: Here’s an excerpt from after Leanne’s
accident, when she’s in the hospital:

A million needles
pierced her wrist. She had to get away from the fire. Leanne flicked open her
eyes, screaming, longing for the agony to stop.

White walls surrounded
her. Machines beeped. Taking in the new scenery, she closed her mouth, the pain
forgotten. Bags filled with clear liquids as well as blood hung from a metal
pole. She followed the tubes from the bags into her left hand. Was that where
the burn came from? She glanced at the other arm, the end of which was wrapped
in thick bandages. The image of spinning blades and her mangled flesh flashed before
her eyes. She screamed again, tears falling down her cheeks. This can’t be
happening.

Bodies rushed into the
room, many in scrubs. With her vision blurred, she didn’t recognize anyone. All
strangers. She was in the foreign place by herself. A nightmare. Has to be.

“Shh, calm down,
sweetie. You’ll be okay.”

A familiar voice. She
glanced to her other side to see her mom standing beside her, her eyes glassy.
She held her hand, but Leanne couldn’t feel it, only the throbbing which had
returned to her other one, the one that was…gone? She groaned, turning on her
side, and pulled her knees up to her chest.

“Mom, is it really…?”

She brushed her
fingers over her forehead. “Don’t worry about it right now. You need to rest.”

“It hurts so bad.”

“I know.” Her mother
stroked her face again. “But the nurses will help it go away.”

“Leanne,” one of the
nurses hovering around her said. “I want you to take deep breaths and count
backward from ten.”

“Ten.” She sucked in
air and cried out in agony.

Between clenched
teeth, she continued. Anything to stop the pain. “Nine.”

Ice traveled through
her veins. “Eight.”

The throbbing slowly
ebbed away. Seven.

Darkness swept over
her and pulled her down with it.

TBR: What inspired you to write
about the theme?Jessica: Many of the characters in my stories face
uncommon challenges in their lives, such as infertility, Alopecia Areata, and
acid burns to their face. I guess that’s why my editors asked me to write a
story for Decadent Publishing’s new series, The Challenge. But, unlike my other
stories, Accidental Romance has younger characters, does not have anything to
do with space, and takes place out in the country. I decided to use some of my
experiences from living out in the country, as well as the stories I’d heard from
my husband and friends.

TBR: Are you a plotter or pantser?Jessica: I’m a little bit of both. I have a basic
outline before I sit down to write most stories. But that outline is very
flexible, and has usually changed by the time I finish writing the story.

TBR: How do you develop your
characters?Jessica: When I first started writing, I used to
use detailed character questionnaires. But, I quickly gave that up for stories
that are not part of a series. Instead, I jot down basics about my characters,
such as hair color, eye color, and basic build. And then I let them reveal more
about themselves as I write their story. Restricting myself and my characters
usually leads to writer’s block, so I don’t do that anymore.

TBR: Did any music inspire your
book? Do you have a playlist?Jessica: I have a playlist for all of my stories,
except for my short erotica stories. The Accidental Romance playlist includes
Amazed by Lonestar, Before You by Chantal Kreviazuk, I Can Love You Like That
by John Michael Montgomery, Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars, Kiss You Inside
Out by Hedley, Spirit Indestructible by Nelly Furtado, Nobody Does It Like You
by Shawn Desman, and more.

TBR: While creating your books, what
was one of the most surprising things you learned?Jessica: With Accidental Romance, I had to do
quite a bit of research about dairy farms and amputations. A couple of things
that surprised me were the preparations that happen long before cows are
milked. Also, I got a taste of what Leanne would experience after her
amputation just by keeping my dominant hand fisted for a period of time. It was
very tough. I could not imagine living like that for the rest of my life. It
truly would be a challenge.

TBR: Tease us with one little thing
about your fictional world that makes it different from others.Jessica: There are some very real characters and
events that make an appearance in Accidental Romance. Leanne’s personality is
based on a friend of mine. And there is a brief mention about cows getting
loose that really did happen when I lived out in the country. We had our own
rodeo on our front lawn. LOL

TBR: What's next for you?Jessica: I have a 1Night Stand/Elatia story called
Another Night, Another Planet, releasing soon from Decadent Publishing, and I
will also be plunging into the world of self-publishing with the first book in
my Alien Next Door series. I’m writing another 1Night Stand story now, and I
have several other stories on my to-write list for 2013, including the re-write
of a story I received my rights back on.

TBR: Any other published works?Jessica: I have five 1Night Stand stories already
published with Decadent Publishing; Beneath the Starry Sky, Celestial
Seduction, Unknown Futures, Satin Sheets in Space, and Sudden Breakaway. I also
have three erotica stories in The Edge series; The Power of Three, Crash
Landing, and Alien Lover. An Unexpected Return is part of the sci-fi romance
line, Elatia. Plus, Never Gonna Let You Go, and Made For Her are published with
Decadent.

TBR: Where can readers find you on
the web?Jessica:
Here are my links:

TBR: Readers, Jessica E. Subject
will give away a $10 Amazon.com e-gift certificate to one lucky commenter at
the end of the Accidental Romance blog tour. She'll pick a winner on April 12,
2013 and announce the winner here and on the other participating blogs. Be sure
to leave your email address so she can contact you if you win. Contest is international. Good luck!

4 comments:

I'm impressed by the research you did for this book--esp. your experiment with the fisted hand. I admire you for trying to experience what your heroine experience even in a small way. Wishing you the best.

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